What's that? Barbie has a new body? And not just one, but THREE new bodies?
AWESOME!!!!!
Barbie has always been the doll for me. I've always loved her as my muse. She could be anything, do anything! All I had to do was imagine.
Sure, the Barbies from the '80s had some pretty intense curves to live up to, but that never bothered me the way it bothered other people. I understood that her body was shaped that way to accommodate the styles of the '80s which included big shoulder pads and hips, crazy big hair and weird fashion.
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| really '80s, what were we thinking? |
But Barbie's body has always been adjusted to reflect the times, It's changed so much over the years to suit the needs of fashion. In the last 10 years alone, Barbie's body has gone from weird '80s proportions to a smaller, more fit look, to show a more realistic ideal.
And now, Mattel has gone a step further and introduced 3 new body types; curvy, tall and petite (plus the original), 7 skin tones, 22 eye colours, and 24 hair styles!
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| OMG I want them all! Especially the curvy, blue haired beauty! |
They're also releasing clothes packs for each body type since traditional clothes won't fit most of them.
People have been overly hard on Barbie over the years, and I do get it, really, but I think overly hard is still the case. Yes, we can focus on Barbie's body and talk about how it makes us feel bad about ourselves or we can focus on what really matters, teaching girls that they can be anything they want.
It's all about perspective.
I'm a firm believer that Barbie reflects who we really are and what we see in ourselves. For me, I see Barbie's potential for imaginative play, as being anything that I want to be. For the people who just focus on her body, they're only seeing skin deep. And I understand too, representation matters, and I hope that these new bodies are a great start for something new.
Like anything, we can enjoy a product and see it's benefits while still critiquing constructively. But lets try and keep it constructive. Let's teach our children the importance of seeing past Barbie's plastic coating and looking into a world of imagination and possibility.
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| great cover by Time Magazine |
It's all about perspective.
I'm a firm believer that Barbie reflects who we really are and what we see in ourselves. For me, I see Barbie's potential for imaginative play, as being anything that I want to be. For the people who just focus on her body, they're only seeing skin deep. And I understand too, representation matters, and I hope that these new bodies are a great start for something new.
Like anything, we can enjoy a product and see it's benefits while still critiquing constructively. But lets try and keep it constructive. Let's teach our children the importance of seeing past Barbie's plastic coating and looking into a world of imagination and possibility.
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